At this time I would like to gently suggest that perhaps we are moving a bit into the arena of political discourse, for which there are many much more appropriate venues.
I spend as much time on political blog sites as I do here; and there, the discussions among like minded partisans are not pretty, in fact they can get downright ugly. And that's among individuals of like minded political ideologies; which is not the demographic here.
If I may suggest, there are a number and variety of places on the internet where one can write one's own blog and invite discussion. It is certainly understandable that we may wish to discuss issues that we consider highly important with our friends here. So I'm thinking that perhaps including a link in one's profile to one's political blog would be a way of doing that.
I tend to post things here from time to time that could reasonably be construed as contrary to my remarks in this post. For instance my remarks above about sustainable local economies could be construed by some, and not unreasonably so, as a political position. And I do fairly often let slide remarks by others that also push the envelope. I admit to being inconsistent. Because I see on a daily basis the tenor of political discussion in other blogs, I really like the idea of keeping our place here relatively free of that genre. On the other hand, I do feel very strongly about our planet and the people on it, and consequently feel the desire to share my views. However, there are times when I want to get away from politics, and be someplace where I can relax among friends; and our group here is such a place. My guess is that many of the members here share that view.
For me, one of the things about our group that has been most rewarding is its significant international participation. Here, we are a community of musicians. We are not constrained by political boundaries or ideologies. Here we share a special kindredship in our love and appreciation of music. Rhythm and harmony stir our souls, and ground us in our common humanity.
Speaking of which, I haven't picked up my Alembic yet today. I better go do that right now!
Thanks for reading. I hope you don't find my comments too unreasonable. And have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, wherever on our planet you happen to be at the moment.
